You may think grey is dull or that it won’t photograph well, but quite the opposite is true. Especially if you have a large group, the more contrasting colors and patterns you add to the mix, the more they start to clash, and the attention is stolen away from the faces. So here’s a grey palette that includes plenty of textures, shades, and subtle patterns to make it lively and interesting while also understated and elegant. Always remember to reserve the brightest and most playful outfit for the smallest body so it will be more of an accent and will not overwhelm the picture.

How would you like to capture your kids and remember your family at this snapshot in time? Every year I photograph these brothers engaged in play so that you can really feel their personalities and how they related to each other. It just keeps on changing as they grow older. This client has a stack of books to commemorate every year of their lives. Please contact me if you’d like to offer a gift certificate to a loved one for this holiday season—I promise it’ll be a gift that will warm their heart.

I love how playful they all are, how the girls are loving on daddy and that I captured how comfortable they all are rolling around together. I was using a magnificent new lens–Canon 85mm 1.2–which makes the backgrounds buttery soft and painterly. I enjoyed using reflections in the water to create an unusual and richly patterned effect. The clothing colors were selected to convey the brightness and joy of the occasion—which was a reunion—and the girls’ lively personalities; the guitar, lake, and sunset set a beautiful mood as they round out the color palette.

Also, rich colors and textures and a huge range of cool backgrounds. But what I love the most about this work is capturing the laughter, affection, and all the different ways of telling a story, a story about relationships that is unique to each family.

Capturing the connections, the love, the laughter. That is what I seek to do with each family. Here it is particularly vivid, especially because this sweet girl is so demonstrative and her face shines with glee…